Can capable of being folded into a definite form by hand

ABSTRACT

A can capable of being folded into a definite form by hand, the can including two parts. The can has parallel grooves or beads spaced from the top to bottom ends on the cylindrical sides of the can. The grooves and top or bottom form ring strips around the can. Four divider grooves or beads are spaced at equal intervals around the can perpendicular to the ring strips on the side of the can. Diagonal grooves are provided on each quadrilateral formed by the grooves or beads and the grooves or beads which form the rings. Short grooves are provided along the circumference of the can at the middle point of the divider grooves or beads perpendicular thereto.

United States Patent 11 1 1111 3,918,603

Hatada Nov. 11, 1975 CAN CAPABLE OF BEING FOLDED INTO A 3.721.371 3/1973Dolveck 220 115 B DEFINITE FORM BY HAND Primary E.\'uminer-George ELowrance 76 Inventor: Michio Hat d l 1 shimhatwliiggghbchog Attorney,Agent, or FirmArmstrong, Nikaido &

Kanagawa-ku, Yokohamu-shi, Wcgner Kunugznva-ken, Japan 1221 Filed: a.16, 1973 [57] ABSTRACT A can capable of being folded into a definiteform by [211 Appl' 406790 hand, the can including two parts. The can hasparallel grooves or beads spaced from the top to bottom ends ForeignApplication Pri it D t on the cylindrical sides of the can. The groovesand 0m. 17. 1972 Japan 47-103195 P or bottom fmm ring Strips mund the 3Four d1v1der grooves or beads are spaced at equal lntervzils 52 us. 01.220/1 R; 215/1 c can R ring Strip? [51] Int. Cl. B65D l/; BD 7/42 Sldeof grooms arc provldefl n [58] Field of Search 220/} R, 6 72; 215/1 C;each quadrilateral formed by the grooves or beads and /05 the grooves orbeads whlch form the rmgs. Short grooves are provided along thecircumference of the 56] References Cited can at tire rpiddlle point ofthe divider grooves or beads UNITED STATES PATENTS pups t mm 3.353.70011 1067 Kulinn 220 1 6 Claim- 7 Drawing Figures J B 22 A Q l 2 j IV 211v A1- +c B 4- US. Patent Nov. 11, 1975 3,918,603

CAN CAPABLE OF BEING FOLDED INTO A DEFINITE FORM BY HAND BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION The present invention relates to an empty can capable ofbeing folded by hand and more particularly, a can in which the outer orinner surface of a cylindrical can is provided with grooves for foldingthis can by hand when it is empty.

Canned food and drink which are used to a large extent in mountains,fields, beaches, stations and streets are often left as empty cans afterhaving been used because of the difficulty in treating the used cans.Holiday resorts and mountains may be soiled easily and cleaning isexpensive and difficult. Empty cans left in streets not only spoil thebeauty but may cause traffic accidents.

Further, these empty cans cause a bottleneck for transportation becauseof their very bulky volumes. Empty cans may be deformed bypressure,-however, cans are manufactured so strongly that they may notbe bent without using special tools, resulting in leaving them as emptycans. If empty cans are folded by hand without using any special tool,not only will the user voluntarily treat used cans but social pressurewill force persons to fold the cans.

Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a canwhich can be easily treated after use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a can which can befolded easily into a definite predetermined form by hand when it isempty.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a can, thevolume of which can be minimized greatly when it is empty.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a can, whereby thecleaning of surroundings and the improved recovery of material areattained with a reduced cost for transporting waste materials.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a two partaluminium can which can be folded into a definite form by hand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a can isprovided which is capable of being folded into a definitefform by hand.The can has two parts and comprises parallel grooves or beads spacedfrom the top and bottom ends of the sides of the can forming ring stripsin the soft metal can. Four divider grooves or beads are spaced at equalintervals around the can and are perpendicular to the ring strips on theside of the said can. Diagonal grooves are formed on each quadrilateralformed by said divider grooves or beads and the grooves or beads whichform said rings. Short grooves are provided along the circumference ofthe can at each middle point of said divider grooves or beadsperpendicular thereto.

A can according to the present invention, when a can is empty it can befolded perfectly into a definite form by hand without using any specialtool. Persons can carry it back easily from mountains, beaches, orstreets. In recycling of the empty cans for resources after collectingthem, the transport capacity necessary is reduced to one-fourth, so thatthe can according to the present invention has further advantagescompared with the transport of the conventional cans which virtuallytransports air due to the larger volume of the cans.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention will be readilyunderstood from the following description, when read together with thedrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a can according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a developed view of the cylindrical can.

FIG. 3 is a side view which shows the can in a pressed state.

FIG. 4 is a cross-section] view before pressing on IV--IV line in FIG.3.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view after pressing on IVIV line in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a side view which illustrates the angle with respect to thehorizontal direction.

FIG. 7 is a side view after folding.

DETAILED EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION The present invention will beillustrated in detail with reference to the drawings. The example forillustration is an aluminium can which holds 350 ml. of beer. In the canas shown in FIG. 1, the diameter of D is 65 mm and the length of L ismm. This can comprises cylindrical portion 1 and top 2, shaped togetherwith the bottom by the impressing method. The can is made of a softmetal such as aluminium and an alloy of aluminium.

FIG. 2 is a developed view of the side of the cylindrical can 1 as shownin FIG. 1. Ring strips 5 and 6 are formed by making the grooves or beads3 and 4 parallel to the edges at an interval from the top and bottomends on the outside or the inside of the side. The interval, that is thewidth of the ring strips 5 and 6 is for example about 515 mm, about 10mm is desirable, by making the notched lines or beads 7 and 8 parallelto the grooves 3 and 4. The spacing between adjacent ring strips shouldbe less than the diameter D, taking into consideration the folddiscussed below. Therefore, though the non-broken zone 9 is not alwaysneceasary for a can within this range, one non-broken zone 9 would benecessary for above-mentioned beer cans and two would be necessary fortaller cans.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2 four divider grooves or beads 10, ll, 12and 13 are made between rings 5 and 6 or between the rings 5 or 6 andnon-broken zone 9 spaced at equal intervals of n-D/4. The diagonalnotched lines 14 and 15 are made on each quadrilateral A, B, C and Dformed by the grooves or beads 10, ll, 12 and 13. Moreover, shorthorizontal grooves 16, l7, l8 and 19 with a length of about one-eighthof the circumference, n'D/S being desirable, are crossed on the middlepoint of the four divided grooves or beads 10, l 1, l2 and 13. Theabove-mentioned grooves or beads can be made on either the inside or theoutside of the side. In the present invention many grooves are made onthin and soft metal as mentioned above, so that it is desirable tostrengthen the inside or the outside of the center non-broken zone witha bead (the swelling line).

Each of the above-mentioned grooves or beads correspond to a foldingline which promotes movement by finger-pressure. The way to fold the canin the present invention is as follows. Pressure is applied with onesfingers to each central point of each quadrilateral A and C, that is theintersecting point 20 of grooves 14 and 15. The side of the can 1 cavesinto the position of symmetry in the inside direction as shown by thebroken line. When the finger pressure is applied to each center point ofeach quadrilateral B and D in the same way, the can has eightsymmetrical cavities. Crossing these cavities at the level of the crossgrooves 16, 17, 18 and 19, the shape shown in FIG. 4 changes into thatshown in FIG. 5. The points l0, 11, 12 and 13 seen in FIG. are not thepoints in fact but the acute-angled pillars which extend up and down thecan 1, except in the ring strips 5 and 6 and the center non-broken zone9.

An important point in folding the can is the reduction of the strengthof the pillars. This is done by folding in the same direction, eitherright or left, on the crossed grooves16, 17,18, and 19 as shown in FIG.6. The way to fold the can is first to join fingers around the tops ofthe acute angle 10, 11,12 and 13, shown in FIG. 5 and then to press themin the same horizontal direction. The pillars with an acute angle changeinto two thicknesses of folded material as shown in FIG. 6. The can isthen twisted by holding the ring 5 or 6 and the nonbroken zone. Thoughthe acute and straight pillar are strong, two thicknesses of foldedmaterial are fragile. The empty can without pillars formed by the foldlines which are turned to the inside is just before broken, so that whenpressure is applied to it the shape of it changes as shown in FIG. 7 andfolding into a definite form is perfected. Therefore the thickness ofthe can after folding becomes 20-30 mm, less than a quarter of theoriginal length.

The above description treats a beer can as an embodiment but the canaccording to the present invention is not only limited to the beer canbut can also be used for various kinds of cans. The form of cylindricalcan is not limited to a circle but an ellipse or other shape can beused.

As mentioned above the can in the present invention comprises soft metalsuch as aluminium including a special ferro-alloy in which the groovesor beads 3 and 4 are made at intervals from the top and bottom ends onthe side of a cylindrical can. The can has the advantage that in foldingthe can the middle portion is folded easily, keeping the original shapein this portion. When the space between the ring strips 5 and 6 islonger than the diameter D, folding perfectly becomes impossible.Consequently making grooves 7 and g at regular intervals on the middleportion between the ring strips 5 and 6 to form one or two non-brokenzones 9, facilitates folding the can. Further the line of the fold isput inside in this portion so that it has the advantage that afterfolding the can only a portion remains as shown in FIG. 7 and the sizeof the can is reduced to under a quarter of its original size.

Moreover, since the four divider grooves or beads 10, l 1, l2 and 13 arespaced at equal intervals between the rings on the side of the can I andthe diagonal grooves 14 and 15 are made in each quadrilateral A, B, C.and D, by pressing the intersecting points of these diagonal grooves,making a cavity is easily formed in this portion. Consequently the acuteangled pillars are formed as shown in FIG. 5. Furthermore, by making thecross grooves 16, 17,18 and 19 with the length of about oneeighth of thecircumference on the middle point of the said divider grooves or beads10, 11, 12 and 13, folding the can after making the acute pillarsbecomes easy. consequently perfect folding is finished easily bypressing on both sides.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. Thepresently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in allrespects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the inventionbeing indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoingdescription, and all changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

l. A cylindrical can capable of being folded into a predetermined shapeby hand, said can comprising parallel first grooves spaced from the topand bottom ends of the can wherein ring strips are formed on the side ofsaid can between said first grooves and the top and bottom of said can,at least one pair of spaced second grooves, parallel to said firstgrooves and positioned therebetween, a plurality of third grooves spacedat equal intervals around said can and running between each said firstgroove and an adjacent said second groove perpendicular thereto whereinthe space formed between said second grooves in each said pair of secondgrooves has no third grooves therein, diagonal grooves extending betweenthe corners in the quadrilateral formed by said first, second and thirdgrooves, and short grooves formed along the circumference of thecylinder at each mid-point of each said third grooves, perpendicularthereto.

2. A can according to claim 1 wherein said can is a soft metal.

3. A can according to claim 2, wherein the soft metal is aluminium or analuminium alloy.

4. A can according to claim 1, wherein the length of the short groovesmade along the circumference is about one-eighth of the circumference.

5. A can according to claim 1, wherein the width of the ring is about5-15. mm.

6. A can according to claim 1, wherein the inside or the outside of thenon-broken zone is strengthened with a bead.

1. A cylindrical can capable of being folded into a predetermined shapeby hand, said can comprising parallel first grooves spaced from the topand bottom ends of the can wherein ring strips are formed on the side ofsaid can between said first grooves and the top and bottom of said can,at least one pair of spaced second grooves, paralLel to said firstgrooves and positioned therebetween, a plurality of third grooves spacedat equal intervals around said can and running between each said firstgroove and an adjacent said second groove perpendicular thereto whereinthe space formed between said second grooves in each said pair of secondgrooves has no third grooves therein, diagonal grooves extending betweenthe corners in the quadrilateral formed by said first, second and thirdgrooves, and short grooves formed along the circumference of thecylinder at each mid-point of each said third grooves, perpendicularthereto.
 2. A can according to claim 1 wherein said can is a soft metal.3. A can according to claim 2, wherein the soft metal is aluminium or analuminium alloy.
 4. A can according to claim 1, wherein the length ofthe short grooves made along the circumference is about one-eighth ofthe circumference.
 5. A can according to claim 1, wherein the width ofthe ring is about 5-15 mm.
 6. A can according to claim 1, wherein theinside or the outside of the non-broken zone is strengthened with abead.